Dallas Mavericks CEO Rick Welts and GM Nico Harrison spoke with select media members on Tuesday, where, per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, they dug into the status of ticket sales following the polarizing trade of Luke Doncic for Anthony Davis in early February.
Despite the Mavs’ nation showing displeasure with the trade, Welts still believes that a lot more fans want to see what the future holds following the shock move.
MacMahon reported that Welts cited a “75% and 80%” renewal rate for ticket holders as a strong sign that the fans still trust them. Welts added, “That doesn’t mean that there’s a segment of our fan base that doesn’t feel alienated right now, and I think that we hear them. And it’s on us to win back that trust. I’m very confident that’s exactly what we’re going to do by the way we conduct ourselves on and off the court every day going forward.”
To keep the fire burning, rather than them being burnt by it, Welts and Harrison need to keep the fans happy by getting back to their winning ways and proving that their decision about the trade is correct.
With Kyrie Irving out due to a season-ending injury, it’ll be up to Daniel Gafford, PJ Washington, Dereck Lively II, and, more importantly, Anthony Davis to produce those massive results to get them past the Play-In tournament and get the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference.
Dallas Mavericks’ Doncic-Davis trade is Ellis-Bogut all over again
Dallas Mavericks CEO Rick Welts compared the shocking trade of Luka Doncic for Los Angeles Lakers’ Anthony Davis to a sensational move in the past that shocked the basketball world.
It was back in early 2012 when the Milwaukee Bucks and Golden State Warriors were involved in trade talks where the Bucks were targeting GSW’s would-be legend Steph Curry, but Milwaukee’s doctors advised not to pursue him due to his persistent ankle injuries.
With this, the Bucks went for Monta Ellis, Ekpe Udoh, and Kwame Brown in exchange for Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson.
Instead of making the recent trade between the Mavs and the Lakers look better than most fans thought, Welts just found another way to dig themselves a deeper hole.
“This has turned into a sick joke, I am telling you they are doing this on purpose just to piss us all off and move to Vegas!!!!” said one fan on X. Another one said, “Clowns everywhere you look in Dallas front office.”
This has turned into a sick joke, I am telling you they are doing this on purpose just to piss us all off and move to Vegas!!!!
— WAJ (@WHR177) April 15, 2025
Clowns everywhere you look in Dallas front office.
— JAYSEN (@YOGIYEEZY) April 15, 2025
Even a Warriors fan ridiculed the former Golden State Warriors CEO and said, “What a stupid ass CEO! We traded Ellis because we had Curry, you [expletive] tools.”
what a stupid ass CEO! We traded Ellis because we had Curry you fucking tools
— 49ers Faithful 34 🥋 (@49ers_34) April 15, 2025
Despite all the comments and backlashes the trade got from everyone in the league, Welts is still confident that they’ll be able to regain the trust of their disgruntled fans. However, when you make comments like this, it gives the fans more reason to move away from the organization.
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Dan has been active in sports since 2016 and has worked behind the scenes as a scriptwriter for basketball, volleyball, and other sports. At a time, Dan has also been working as a sports commentator for CBA Pilipinas. During the pandemic, he has also been actively writing betting articles for CashBet and BetNow.
